Tag Archives: Laura Baker

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Craig Tooley photographed this Lorquin's Admiral Butterfly.

Laura Baker ID'd this butterfly, which was originally thought to be a California Sister. I couldn't get the ID to match because the orange on the upper wing of this butterfly goes all the way to the edge.  Laura wrote, "Lourquin's admiral is frequently confused with California sister.  You're right that one of the distinguishing  characteristics is that the California sister's wings are tipped in black beyond the orange spots.  Lorquin's admiral has orange all along the edge of the forewings.  Lorquin's admirals are associated with willows and alders while sisters are usually associated with oaks.  But we have tons of sisters and they seem to love our fruit trees, so go figure!"

Here's a California Sister for comparison. This photo was taken by Wendy Bailey.

Thanks to Laura for the ID, and to Wendy and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with  you here. Craig's photo is one of his daily Pic-O-JOY photos. You can see much more of Craig's nature photography at his website: www.ruffimage.com

We're having a heat wave! Well, it's over 80 degrees at our place in Anchor Bay. We tend to start melting when it goes over 80.

Spring doesn't know...

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Laura Baker wrote, "I was out looking under logs up here in Annapolis and had a wonderful experience. I found a Speckled Black Salamander, a first for me. Later in the day I found a Wandering Salamander, also a first.”

Here's Speckled Black Salamander, Anedies flauvipunctatus. Its Scientific name sounds like an incantation from Harry Potter!

And here is the Wandering Salamander, Aneides vacrans.

Here's a look at this salamander's long, squared-off toes.

These are climbing salamanders and have prehensile tails. Wandering Salamanders often are found high in the canopy of old-growth trees, where they can live for the entire lives. The Gualala River watershed is the southernmost limit of their range.

Thanks to Laura for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We received .25 inches of rain yesterday, the first in over a month. We have more in our forecast. Today I can see showers out on the horizon and the Pacific Ocean has big swells.

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Lewis Lubin and Laura Baker have an old orchard on their Annapolis property.  Lewis wrote, “During breakfast last Sunday, we saw our neighbor looking for his breakfast of apples and pears from our Annapolis homesite. We all saw each other and respected our boundaries.”

That's a pretty good-sized bear! Here's a couple of favorite photos of a Black Bear eating huckleberries, taken by Jon Shiu.

ooo, lots of huckleberries for the hungry bear! This is a good year for our wild blueberries. Huckleberries are prized by many creatures including migrating birds, Deer, Black Bears...and me!

Thanks to Lewis and Jon for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

On such a high fire danger day, when many neighbors inland have had their power turned off, here on the Mendonoma Coast it is cool and breezy. There is rain in the extended forecast - we just need to get through the next couple of days. Fingers crossed!

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Adrian Bennett recently photographed this beautiful Anise Swallowtail Butterfly feeding in her garden at The Sea Ranch.

Here is a close up of this butterfly taken by Drew Fagan.

And several years ago Laura Baker photographed the caterpillar of an Anise.

It's always lovely to see a butterfly, don't you agree?

Thanks to Adrian, Drew and Laura for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We are having a spectacular day on the Mendonoma coast. Nothing but blue skies and a gently breeze. Tonight might bring a green flash at sunset as the horizon is clear.

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Linda Bostwick noticed an unusual moth. She wrote, “I discovered this beautiful moth but was unsuccessful in looking it up. We call it the Monkey Face Moth. Check out the beautiful blue iridescent scales, and the great brown face on its back.”

Laura Baker helped find the ID, which is surprisingly enough not the Monkey Face Moth, but a Zigzag Furcula Moth. Its host plants are willows, cottonwoods and birch.  It is also called a Poplar Kitten Moth.

Thanks to Linda for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Fog over the ocean, sunny a little inland - sounds like summer on the Mendonoma coast!